Morphometric Analysis of Ventricular System of Human Brain - A Study by Dissection Method.

It is often a challenge to determine if the brain ventricles are within normal limits or swollen with the age of the patient. With a standardized and comparable system, it is therefore necessary to define normal ventricular size ranges. Cadaveric dissection is always considered the gold standard of anatomical education. Present work is undertaken to study morphometric analysis of lateral, third & fourth ventricles by dissection method. Morphometric assessment of the ventricular system is helpful in the diagnosis as well as classification of hydrocephalus and in the evaluation and monitoring of ventricular system enlargement during ventricular shunt therapy.METHODSDifferent parameters of all parts of lateral ventricle, third and fourth ventricle were measured with digital vernier caliper in cadaveric brain specimens. The brain specimens were obtained from dead bodies subjected to post-mortem examinations in the Department of Forensic Medicine and from the dead bodies voluntarily donated to the Department of Anatomy, Silchar Medical College, Silchar.RESULTS37 brain specimens were obtained, out of which 24 were male, 13 were female and were of different age groups. Change in the parameters of different ventricles in relation to gender was found to be significant. Ventricular sizes are also observed to be more after the age of 60 years.CONCLUSIONSThere is a positive correlation in measurements of the brain ventricles with age and variation in accordance with gender and laterality.

Morphometric MRI study of the brain ventricles in healthy Turkish subjects / Estudio morfométrico de resonancia magnética de los ventrículos cerebrales en sujetos turcos sanos

The aim of this study was to determine the normal values of brain ventricles and indices in healthy subjects in our population using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to reveal sex and age related differences. The MRI of two hundred-sixty-five healthy individuals aged between eighteen and eighty-seven years were examined and the midsagittal and axial images were used for measurements. The measurements were performed from MRI on a Workstation. The following mean values of brain ventricles and indices were observed; frontal horn width (FHW) (33.14 mm); third (3rd) ventricle width (TVW) (3.37 mm); fourth ventricle anteroposterior width (FVWAP) (9.93 mm); fourth ventricle transverse width (FVWT) (12.40 mm); and the maximum transverse inner diameter of the skull (TIDS) (128.75 mm) in females. The same dimensions were 34.85 mm, 3.91 mm, 10.26 mm, 12.81 mm, and 134.68 mm in males, respectively. There were statistically significantly differences in the frontal horn width, third (3rd) ventricle width, and the maximum transverse inner diameter of the skull values in between sexes. The mean values of Evans' index which obtanied with maximum width between the frontal horns of the lateral ventricles divided by the maximum transverse inner diameter of the skull were found as 0.280 ±0.172 in females; whereas the same dimensions were calculated 0.276±0.161 in males. These values were lower in healthy male subjects than females, however; there were no found significantly difference between groups. Present findings obtained from MRI are necessary anatomical baseline data for interpreting pathological changes, planning surgery, and determining presence and progress of some neurological diseases.

El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar los valores normales de los ventrículos e índices cerebrales en sujetos sanos en nuestra población mediante el uso de imágenes de resonancia magnética (RM) y revelar las diferencias relacionadas con el sexo y la edad. Se examinó la resonancia magnética de 265 individuos sanos de entre 18 y 87 años, y se utilizaron las imágenes en sentido medio y sagital para las mediciones. Las mediciones se realizaron a partir de IRM en una estación de trabajo. Se observaron los siguientes valores medios de ventrículos e índices cerebrales: longitud del asta frontal (FHW) (33,14 mm); longitud del tercer ventrículo (TVW) (3,37 mm); longitud anteroposterior del cuarto ventrículo (FVWAP) (9,93 mm); longitud transversal del cuarto ventrículo (FVWT) (12,40 mm); y el diámetro transversal máximo del cráneo (SID) (128,75 mm) en las hembras. Las mismas dimensiones fueron 34,85 mm, 3,91 mm, 10,26 mm, 12,81 mm y 134,68 mm en machos, respectivamente. Hubo diferencias estadísticamente significativas en el ancho del asta frontal, el ancho del tercer ventrículo y el diámetro interno transversal máximo de los valores del cráneo entre los sexos. Los valores medios del índice de Evans que obtuvieron el ancho máximo entre los cuernos frontales de los ventrículos laterales dividido por el diámetro interno transversal máximo del cráneo se encontraron en 0,280 ± 0,172 en las mujeres; mientras que las mismas dimensiones se calcularon en hombres (0,276 ± 0,161). Sin embargo, estos valores fueron más bajos en hombres sanos que en mujeres; no se encontraron diferencias significativas entre los grupos. Los hallazgos actuales obtenidos de IRM son datos anatómicos de referencia necesarios para interpretar los cambios patológicos, planificar la cirugía y determinar la presencia y el progreso de algunas enfermedades neurológicas.

Cerebral localization of the mind and higher functions: the beginnings / Localização cerebral da mente e das funções superiores: os primórdios

Abstract The debates about the mind and its higher functions, and attempts to locate them in the body, have represented a subject of interest of innumerable sages since ancient times. The doubt concerning the part of the body that housed these functions, the heart (cardiocentric doctrine) or the brain (cephalocentric doctrine), drove the search. The Egyptians, millennia ago, held a cardiocentric view. A very long time later, ancient Greek scholars took up the theme anew, but remained undecided between the heart and the brain, a controversy that lasted for centuries. The cephalocentric view prevailed, and a new inquiry ensued about the location of these functions within the brain, the ventricles or the nervous tissue, which also continued for centuries. The latter localization, although initially inaccurate, gained traction. However, it represented only a beginning, as further studies in the centuries that followed revealed more precise definitions and localizations of the higher mental functions.

Resumo Os debates sobre a mente e suas funções superiores, e as tentativas de estabelecer suas localizações no corpo, foram objeto de interesse de inúmeros sábios desde os tempos mais remotos. A dúvida quanto à parte do corpo que abrigava tais funções, o coração (doutrina cardiocêntrica) ou o cérebro (doutrina cefalocêntrica), abriu as buscas. Os egípcios, há milênios, mantinham um ponto de vista cardiocêntrico. Muito tempo depois, antigos acadêmicos gregos retomaram o tema, mas permaneceram indecisos entre o coração e o cérebro, uma controvérsia que durou séculos. O ponto de vista cefalocêntrico predominou, e seguiu-se uma nova questão, quanto ao lugar dessas funções no cérebro, os ventrículos ou o tecido nervoso, que também durou séculos. Esta última localização, apesar de inicialmente equivocada, prosperou. Entretanto, esta representou apenas um começo, já que mais estudos, nos séculos seguintes, revelaram definições e localizações mais precisas para as funções mentais superiores.

Septooptic Dysplasia: A Case Report

Septooptic dysplasia is a rare anterior midline anomaly considered to be a mild form of lobar holoprosencephaly. We describe a case with unilateral optic nerve hypoplasia and the absence of a septum pellucidum.

Intraventricular Hemorrhage Caused by Lateral Ventricular Meningioma: A Case Report

Meningiomas causing intracranial hemorrhage are rare, and hemorrhage from a lateral ventricular meningioma seems to be even rarer. We report a case of trigonal meningioma in a 43-year-old woman who presented with intraventricular hemorrhage, and describe the CT, MRI and angiographic findings.

Central Neurocytoma Originated from Atrium with Malignant Trans formation: A Case Report

Central neurocytoma, a cerebral intraventricular tumor, is usually benign. It frequently develops in the area of the foramen of Monro, and is usually attached to the septum pellucidum. Mild to moderate contrast enhancement is common. We encountered a case of central neurocytoma in a 60-year-old woman; the tumor arose from the atrium of the lateral ventricle, and extraventricular extension and malignant transformation were apparent. CT and MRI revealed a well-defined, slightly heterogeneous mass measuring 2.5x3x5cm with surrounding edema. There was strong contrast enhancement of the mass.

Traumatic Intraventricular Hemorrhage: Classifications and Prognosis According to CT Findings

PURPOSE: To determine clinical outcome in cases of traumatic intraventricular hemorrhage(TIVH) according to the mechanisms and amount of hemorrhage seen on initial CT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the initial CT findings of 61 patients with TIVH. The mechanisms of TIVH were analyzed on the basis of the following CT findings: Type I; large intracerebral hematoma extending to adjacent ventricle; Type II: hemorrhagic and/or non-hemorrhagic diffuse axonal injury in the thalamus and basal ganglia; Type III: multiple small hemorrhagic lesions in the septum pellucidum, fornix, corpus callosum, and periventricular region, which may be due to inner cerebral trauma, Type IV: evidence of hypoxic brain injury, and Type V: TIVH with contusion and small subdural or epidural hematomas. The amount of TIVH was classified according to the Graeb score. We analyzed these mechanisms on the basis of CT findings, and for prognosis, correlated these with clinical outcomes and the Glasgow coma score. RESULTS: Prognosis was good in types V and III and poor in type I and II(p=0.001). In patients with a Graeb score of 4 or less, the clinical outcome was better than in those with a Graeb score above 5(p=0.03). Patients with a lower initial Glasgow coma score had poor outcomes(p=0.001). CONCLUSION: The hemorrhage mechanism in patients with TIVH could be important for estimating clinical outcome, especially during the early phase. In patients with type V or III TIVH, clinical outcome was better than in those with type I or II.

MR Findings of the Intraventricular Tumors

With regard to various pathologic conditions, it is important to understand not only MR findings, which dependon the anatomic location of intraventricular lesions, but also the anatomic location most appropriate for surgicalintervention. In this paper we will analyze and demonstrate the incidence and characteristic MR findings ofvarious intraventricular tumors according to the location of ventricles.